The Angles of Light

Best viewed large. All comments and ratings appreciated.

Excellent rhytm, changing tones and lines. Unfortunately these persons aren't playing any role in the scene... Anyway - well done.

A very nicely composed beautiful shot, Amitai!

 

An amazing place! You have well documented its beauty.

Not an easy shot with the dominating white,but you have cleverly managed the tones to keep the ribs in full view for an excellent image.Bravo!

Salutations-Laurent

Beautiful composition.  I enjoyed the subtle colors (to the right).  regards. aileen

Thank you all very much for taking the time to comment. 

Please note the following:

• This image has been selected for discussion. It is not necessarily the "best" picture the Elves have seen this week, nor is it a contest.
• Discussion of photo.net policy, including the choice of Photograph of the Week should not take place here, but in the Help & Questions Forum.
• The About Photograph of the Week page tells you more about this feature of photo.net.
• Before writing a contribution to this thread, please consider our reason for having this forum: to help people learn about photography. Visitors have browsed the gallery, found a few striking images and want to know things like why is it a good picture, why does it work? Or, indeed, why doesn't it work, or how could it be improved? Try to answer such questions with your contribution.

Beautiful architecture. The diagonal starting at the lower left creates a nice leading line into the image. Unfortunately, I am led to two uninteresting people. I wish it was obvious what they are doing. Maybe cleaning people? In that case, it would be more interesting if they were actively cleaning. As it is, I would rather the people be gone.

The point of view is very ordinary (standing in the middle of the isle). This may have been the best view, but it makes me think that the photographer didn't explore other viewpoints. Sitting on the ground, slightly to one side may have produced a better veiwpoint.

Amitai,
It is a very well composed image, all about space and perspective. I love the color and contrast in this image. The bows make a particular rhytm. The persons at the end of this gallery ad very well to this image. There is a certain risque that this image in itself can become monotonous without them. You have well seen! Congratulations.
Kind regards,
Herman

My view is that this photograph is all right. The composition is utilitarian. I find nothing special about this image. It is simply not interesting. I do not think it is worth talking about.

It's not an unusual photo. It's what tempts many. The people in the background aren't present enough to add to the story and yet are too present to ignore. It's a very straightforward perspective on design. Considering the subject matter, the photo doesn't have much depth. Easy to understand why it was taken as the scene would have graphic appeal and yet becomes a very unremarkable photo. Very little energy, power, or oomph.

Basically, I agree with what Fred said. It's an enticing subject but there just isn't anything to really grab one's attention.

I do think the image might be a little more interesting if the light had been treated with more dramatic post processing. It wouldn't make it a great photograph, there just isn't any real content, but I do think it might have at least given it some curb appeal. As it is, it is a rather bland treatment of a scene that is rather bland.

This would tempt me, and I'd follow through and take the photograph. But what Fred stated is right on, IMO: the people are present enough that they can't be ignored, yet they offer relatively little regarding a story in the photograph. Located at the far end, they are too small, too ambiguous; like Matthew, I thought they might be janitors, yet I wasn't sure.

I'm trying to think what might be more compelling. I like contrasts, and for me what would get my attention and interest would be the presence of one or more persons more prominently shown in the photograph and that somehow contrasted with the gleaming, modern appearance of the architecture. I'm thinking of children, displaced families, solitary individuals.... Maybe even a janitor had the janitor been clearly seen as such, part of the human infrastructure tasked with behind-the-scenes maintenance of a sleek but sterile edifice.

It might be argued that such a contrast is itself a cliche. I can't deny that point of view. However, such a contrast is representative of a compelling theme in human experience: the diversity of the human condition; the divergence of societies caused by economic, political, or religious differences; or the pace and uneven distribution of technological change. A photograph that taps a compelling theme in human experience is something that is of great interest to me. Amitai is tending in that direction and made the best of what was present, but the elements were insufficient and didn't quite come together to carry a distinct and compelling message.

When looking at the larger size ,the exposure is good, as well as the DOF and light.
The people at the end are in general a good contrast, but I agree with the rest that it is not enough
to grab attention and keep the viewer's interest. Standing and waiting for some closer activity of people, as contrast, would have added to the interest and would have created a richer angle of composition.

The people are a distraction and all one needs is the black door to be 'the thing at the end of the tram line' .... remove the people and their reflections in the floor. It is a fascinating 'nothing' shot then. The black square door counter balances the sweep[ings] of the ceiling. Acting as a kind of full stop to the progression of tones in the ceiling/floor. Really a very enjoyable image once the people are removed.

I am actually more drawn to the blue thingy behind the people. It's the ink stain on an otherwise tabula rasa. The image is not original, but, this is like saying Raphael was not original.

Obviously people use this corridor but they have no place in a pictorial record of it. It is interesting the different reactions to it in the comments above. Stark minimilism [?] ... its lovely.

No, it's not.

I can think of at least a hundred twenty-four differences. LOL.

So let's go back to the title of the POW: "The Angles of light".
I have no idea of whether Amitai, by the title, had the intention to make reference to the experimental English band by the same name, that actually originally should have been named the "Pleasure Seekers". One of their songs, "Palisades", ends by the words:

I see the Pow in the same line of thinking. Any seeking of rational interpretation or any story to be told in the images, is a dead end. The image is trying only one thing: to give visual pleasure. Just like what was the intention of the architect. Beautiful repetition of a wing-like structure in pure white and lightened by hard white spotlights. The visual violence of the black square door at the bottom of the corridor, puts to the fore the softness of the lines of the arches. <p >So what has the photographer added to the quality of the place? In my eyes he has rendered well the the white arches and the light in the upper corners, but the lights to the left stand out as overblown spots that do not add aesthetic pleasure to the rest. The people at the end play the role of dimension scales and nothing much else. Personally, I would have cropped away the foreground so that the frame of the image concentrates fully and only on the arches. The foreground can play a role if the debts of the corridor was an important element in the image, but I don't feel it's need. <p >All together, I kind of like this type of images, just like I'm attracted to architectural creativity.

I'm not sure that that the people in the background, even if we could see them better, would add much to the picture. They look mundane. The version posted with the people and blue objects cloned out looks empty, but it does show that the people and objects do not add much to the picture.

The two pictures that follow the POW in Amitai's portfolio (Reflections and Young and Old) provide an interesting comparison. The first picture, Reflections, was taken in the same museum, but has a very different feel. The setting feels more alive, but the person in the picture, this time a child, while closer to the camera, is not well placed. The second picture, Young and Old, shows a person in a completely different kind of setting, but here there's a kind of harmony between setting and subject, and the picture is more successful.

The English experimental band is Angels of Light.

Anders, that is an assumption and an interpretation on your part. I have no idea what Amitai wanted to convey, whether it was simply visual pleasure or something deeper (as an aside, I hold "visual pleasure" in very high regard, but still consider a photograph that successfully conveys a story or a message to be a higher achievement). If Amitai's goal was, in fact, visual pleasure, then I think the composition was largely appropriate and only marred (IMO) by the people shown. It would have been more successful (to my eyes) if the people had not been present and we were left with only the curving angles of light leading to a dark, rectangular door at the end.

That got me to thinking about compositions (especially landscapes and street) over which we have little control other than settings on the lens and camera, point of view, and when to press the shutter. For those of us who think the photo would have been better without the people or with a different composition involving people, what is Amitai to do, especially if Amitai were to agree with that assessment? I can imagine looking through the viewfinder, seeing the aesthetically pleasing curves of light, the straight lines on the floor, and the contrasting dark door at the end, and then the presence of people who I would rather not be there. I wait, but they are just talking and don't appear to be ready to leave. Because I'm just passing by, do I give up the photograph because it is not as perfect as I envision in my mind, or do I try to make the best of what has been given to me?

Always a tough question, and a reasonable one. My practice is to go with my gut. I have nothing to lose by taking the picture, even though there are problems. I might be able to work with it and might not. I actually have a photo not unlike this, with a very similar problem. I keep it in my archives but don't consider it finished and don't show it.

Edward Weston was always disturbed by the shadow on the right arm of Charis Wilson in this photo of his. He felt it ruined the sensual curve of the arm. Obviously, he felt the photo conveyed enough that such a disappointment, while meaning it was less than perfect, didn't detract enough from the photo for him to bin it. Probably most of us are glad he made that decision.

I just keep in mind how hard it is to make a good photo and that it's OK that it's hard. For me, there's something special about all the elements and qualities of a photo coming together and so I want to get as close to that as I can. I hold back on a lot of photos I like because of flaws like this, though I have a few that have flaws but are good enough to be keepers anyway. In some situations, like documentary series, I am much less concerned with certain details that may be off. I'm much more interested in the gestalt of a series than in each photo standing on its own. So context matters a lot.

One thing I find so challenging, fun, and that stimulates my imagination in the process of taking a photo is precisely what kind of adjustment I can make on the spot to work with what I may have and not just stay with the photo I want (especially if I realize I can't have the photo I want). So, it's not just about what's given me, but it's about what can I, actively and creatively, do differently from what I originally intended to make this into a photo I really want to take. So, instead of taking this photo as is and resigning myself to living with a fairly big flaw, I might have really tried to readjust my thinking and take a very different picture, one that excluded the people or one where I could utilize them differently so they would work. I think some of the best photos made are ones where the photographer has that kind of spontaneity of vision to balance what he may originally see and want with what he can make from the raw materials he has. I know I can get stuck in my own head and sometimes not see beyond my own first gut instinct. When I move beyond that, if I have to, I really get a feeling of fulfillment. It's great to surprise yourself like that.

Amitai's image shows the architect's vision in very appealing light. It shows depth and scale. It's an interesting structure.